Secretary General of , Jens Stoltenberg, has described as a legitimate form of self-defense.
“Ukraine has a right to defend itself,” he told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper on Saturday. “And according to international law, this right does not stop at the border.”
The offensive, which caught the Kremlin off guard when it was launched from ‘s Sumy region on August 6, is now in its fourth week.
Ukrainian troops claim to have captured dozens of small towns and villages across over 1,200 square kilometers (around 500 square miles) of territory and have claimed to have taken .
“The Russian soldiers, tanks and bases [in Kursk] are legitimate targets under international law,” said Stoltenberg, adding that Kyiv had not informed NATO about its plan beforehand and did not play a role in them.
Stoltenberg, who is stepping down as NATO chief in October, also welcomed ‘s commitment to continue its support for Ukraine – despite in next year’s budget.
He praised “Germany’s clear commitment to remaining Ukraine’s primary military donor in Europe and the second-biggest worldwide [after the United States].”
The German government has justified plans to cut direct aid to Ukraine from €7.48 billion to around €4 billion in 2025 by highlighting a European Union plan to divert interest accumulated from frozen Russian assets held within the bloc to Kyiv.
rm/mf (Reuters, AP, afp, dpa)
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